Old-growth forest might store far more carbon than previously thought, making
their preservation a higher priority in carbon trading and other efforts to
tackle global warming.
Classified as forests at least 100 years old, old-growth forests are widespread
in tropical and subtropical developing countries. Until now, they were not
thought to absorb and store significant amounts of greenhouse gases from the
atmosphere.
In a study published in Science this week, however, scientists show that a
400-year-old forest in southern China is soaking up carbon from the atmosphere
considerably faster than expected.
Knowing this, developing countries with abundant old-growth forest cover could
ask rich countries for compensation through the global carbon trade, said team
leader Guoyi Zhou.
The finding could also help reduce deforestation in the developing world, added
Zhou, from the Guangdong Province-based Dinghushan ...